A day after Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and AAP’s Sardulgarh MLA Gurpreet Singh Banawali met the family of slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota to offer condolences, Action Committee seeking justice for him said on Tuesday that its November 5 call to gherao Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Sangrur remained unchanged.The Action Committee members, in the presence of Jhota’s father Bhim Singh, said the government had been apprised of their demands, including the resignation of the Chief Minister and DGP. However, no formal invitation for talks with the panel of ministers and the Chief Secretary had been received so far. They said preparations for the gherao had been completed across the state and appealed to people to participate in large numbers.The committee said its demands included concrete action against drugs, the release of all supporters booked, arrested or detained after Jhota’s killing on October 13, and compensation and a government job for a family member of another youth, Daljit Singh of Bhamme Kalan village, who allegedly died of a drug overdose.“If the government approaches us for talks, the committee will hold a meeting and collectively decide its next course of action. If the CM and DGP do not resign, we will take the campaign to the public,” the committee members said.The protest in Mansa has been continuing since Jhota’s killing, with his body still lying at the local Civil Hospital as the postmortem examination remains pending.


